Global pizza chain Sbarro may be getting burned by the competition—and its own debts. In the wake of the news that the company has hired restructuring and bankruptcy advisors to help restructure its balance sheet, brokers say that the eatery could be eyeing several Big Apple outposts for closure.
Melville, N.Y.-based Sbarro boasts a half dozen Manhattan locations, seven in Queens and one in Brooklyn, according to the company’s website. Among those are three outposts in John F. Kennedy International Airport. Since many of the Manhattan spots are in up-and-coming neighborhoods, brokers expect those shops to close first.
“They have some old leases,” said Ariel Schuster, executive vice president at Robert K. Futterman & Associates. “I can’t imagine that when they come up for renewal they’ll be able to pay the rent.”